UConn 98, Vanguard 18: Six Things We Learned

STORRS — When freshmen come to UConn it doesn’t take long for them to realize that what makes the program great has more to do with the points it prevents than the ones it scores.

“I’ve probably sat lower in my defensive stance over the last three weeks than I have in my entire life,” said freshman Katie Lou Samuelson, the consensus national high school player of the year. “The offense will come, but if I can’t play defense there is no need for me to be on the court.

”It’s what we do here; we play defense. And with so many offensive players, we don’t just need another one. We need someone who can get out there and help defensively. That’s been my main focus since I got here.”

Over the last two national championship seasons, during which UConn has rolled to a 78-1 record, its defense has allowed almost identical shooting percentages.

The undefeated 2014 team allowed its 40 opponents to shoot 31.0 percent. Last year’s 38-1 team was an eye-twitch better at 30.9. There's little doubt this year’s team, which appears deeper, bigger and more versatile than last year's, has the potential to do better.

Sunday’s preseason game — UConn’s 98-18 win over NAIA Vanguard at Gampel Pavilion — gave the Huskies' defense a perfect opportunity to take a test run with its regular season opener coming Nov. 16 at Ohio State.

With the shot clock reduced to 24 seconds and just eight seconds to get the ball across midcourt, the quicker pace tested UConn's agility and fed its insatiable urge to consume an offense too small, too slow and too inexperienced.

And that’s what the Huskies did. They forced 32 turnovers, made 22 steals (seven by Gabby Williams) and held the Lions to 6-for-49 from the field (12.2 percent) and 1 of 15 from three.

“The players that played a lot last year, the four returning starters and Gabby, had a pretty good sense of what we were trying to do defensively,” Geno Auriemma said. “The young guys [Samuelson and freshman Napheesa Collier] are getting better at it. They are both long and pretty smart.

“The fact we have many interchangeable parts, when we switch on screens, really makes it matter little who is playing who [defensively]. But being a great defensive team is always something we pride ourselves in being. And having Kia Nurse and Moriah Jefferson up front with Gabby in the middle, three really good athletes, allows us to do a lot of things.

”Now, it might not be good enough to defend Ohio State. They have guards that are hard to defend. But for now, I kind of like where we are.” Five other things learned from the game:

STORRS — When freshmen come to UConn it doesn’t take long for them to realize that what makes the program great has more to do with the points it prevents than the ones it scores.

“I’ve probably sat lower in my defensive stance over the last three weeks than I have in my entire life,” said freshman Katie Lou Samuelson, the consensus national high school player of the year. “The offense will come, but if I can’t play defense there is no need for me to be on the court.

”It’s what we do here; we play defense. And with so many offensive players, we don’t just need another one. We need someone who can get out there and help defensively. That’s been my main focus since I got here.”

Over the last two national championship seasons, during which UConn has rolled to a 78-1 record, its defense has allowed almost identical shooting percentages.

The undefeated 2014 team allowed its 40 opponents to shoot 31.0 percent. Last year’s 38-1 team was an eye-twitch better at 30.9. There's little doubt this year’s team, which appears deeper, bigger and more versatile than last year's, has the potential to do better.

Sunday’s preseason game — UConn’s 98-18 win over NAIA Vanguard at Gampel Pavilion — gave the Huskies' defense a perfect opportunity to take a test run with its regular season opener coming Nov. 16 at Ohio State.

With the shot clock reduced to 24 seconds and just eight seconds to get the ball across midcourt, the quicker pace tested UConn's agility and fed its insatiable urge to consume an offense too small, too slow and too inexperienced.

And that’s what the Huskies did. They forced 32 turnovers, made 22 steals (seven by Gabby Williams) and held the Lions to 6-for-49 from the field (12.2 percent) and 1 of 15 from three.

“The players that played a lot last year, the four returning starters and Gabby, had a pretty good sense of what we were trying to do defensively,” Geno Auriemma said. “The young guys [Samuelson and freshman Napheesa Collier] are getting better at it. They are both long and pretty smart.

“The fact we have many interchangeable parts, when we switch on screens, really makes it matter little who is playing who [defensively]. But being a great defensive team is always something we pride ourselves in being. And having Kia Nurse and Moriah Jefferson up front with Gabby in the middle, three really good athletes, allows us to do a lot of things.

”Now, it might not be good enough to defend Ohio State. They have guards that are hard to defend. But for now, I kind of like where we are.” Five other things learned from the game:

Using the regulation men’s basketball, and lengthening the three-point line, naturally may have skewed the results. But it did take a long time for UConn to find its range from the outside on Sunday. In the first half, the Huskies were 1 of 11 from three with Katie Lou Samuelson checking in at 1 of 6. Even Breanna Stewart was struggling (0 of 3). By the end of the game, the Huskies were 7 of 24 from three. Samuelson was 2 of 10 and Stewart 0-for-5.

Using the regulation men’s basketball, and lengthening the three-point line, naturally may have skewed the results. But it did take a long time for UConn to find its range from the outside on Sunday. In the first half, the Huskies were 1 of 11 from three with Katie Lou Samuelson checking in at 1 of 6. Even Breanna Stewart was struggling (0 of 3). By the end of the game, the Huskies were 7 of 24 from three. Samuelson was 2 of 10 and Stewart 0-for-5.